Minority institutions hail SC decision on education act

Minority educational institutions today hailed a supreme court ruling that they do not have to reserve a quarter of the places in their schools for poor students.

The top court yesterday upheld the constitutional validity of the 2010 Right to Education Act, which mandates that private schools should allocate 25 percent of their places to provide free education for poor students up to the age of 14, but said this quota would not be applicable to institutions run by minority groups.

“Our educational institutions are generally geared towards poor students and we admit more than the 25 per cent limit,” Father K.J. Antony, director of the All India Association of Catholic Schools, said in New Delhi today.

He said the ruling helps minority educational institutions because it will get rid of interference from government agencies which they say was adversely effecting administration and management.

“We will have the freedom to choose students for admission in our schools and not be forced to admit children of government officials,” he said.

Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal said students already admitted under the act will be allowed to continue.

Some minority schools, however, sympathized with the government.

M. Ahammad, the principal of a Muslim management school in Kozhikode, Kerala, believes every school, whether it is totally private or gets government assistance, should follow the law and keep 25 per cent of places for poor children.